Razer, those sneaky geniuses, have been secretly at it again, concocting some crazy new peripheral but this time they have let MKAU in on the classified information and it is definitely a sight to see. Finally available globally as of July 30th at Razer.com, their newest headset, the Blackshark V2 X Multiplatform Esports Headset‎, is certainly an experience.

Visually, it’s a quirky looking headset with the iconic flashes of green subtly highlighting its sleek matte black structure. It is incredibly lightweight at about 240 grams; making initial sturdiness a concern. The first thing I noticed as I wrapped it comfortably over my head was the noise cancelling. It was like a cone of silence. To be honest, after the busy day I had to endure, it was so oddly calming. The second feature my eyes instantly bounced to was the smooth pleather headband.

Branded with the iconic Razer name, this time the band is quite generously padded out; very different to its brethren the ‘ManO’ War’ which I also own. Being quite flexible too, the headband can twist and turn easily and expands out quite far but fits snugly around most head sizes. Bizarrely the audio cables extend out of the plastic ear cups and into the headband itself. I wasn’t very excited about this design feature as I was more worried about snagging it on a hook as I mounted them after each session and destroying the internal wiring.

The plastic ear cups, while made of a pretty generic plastic style, are complimented by cushy memory foam muffs that really seal that noise cancelling in, as mentioned earlier. Moulded into the ear cup on the left side is a mute button, volume control and also a flexible microphone that hugs close to your mouth. While not ideally retractable or on an arm to lift out of your face, it was fortunately socked with foam to muffle those background noises. Something a lot of headsets questionably leave out.

The 3.5mm audio/mic jack (perfect for cross use with PC, mobile and every modern console) is also moulded to the underside of the design and included in packaging is a 1.3 metre audio/mic splitter extension cable and a neat little carry bag to keep it all together. The

The Hyperclear Cardioid microphone is a pretty impressive feature of the Blackshark V2 X as it has fabulous pickup and perfect delivery. Being tested in the fury of fire in-game, it captured my voice with clarity and dispatched it back to my teammates just as fast and with just as much sharpness. The unidirectional pickup pattern means all your voice will be directed straight and powerful into the ears of whoever is listening.

With this headset Razer boasts a patented ‘Triforce’ titanium 50mm drivers design for optimal audio. The design provides a trifecta of high, mids and lows with titanium coated diaphragm for less distortion. Did it deliver though in the sound department? While the BlackShark V2 X doesn’t possess THX Spatial Audio via a USB Sound Card unlike the mainline model, the BlackShark V2, it does come packed with 7.1 Surround Sound (PC Only), and I can definitely understand why this headset is aimed at esport players who need to pick up every little footstep and pull off a trigger.

Finding your own optimal volume, I found that minute sounds and trembles were incredibly clear, but pumped up a little louder bass was quite impressive too. The boom of explosions circulated around myself as the Surround Sound kicked in when using them on PC. The clarity and clearness was still present on other devices but the 7.1 surround software gives the Blackshark V2 X a minor edge in computing uses.

Overall, The Blackshark V2 X is an impressive headset newly available on Razer.com at a steal of $104.95 AUD, but also in other leading retail stores. After seeing the price it is a definite shock the quality and clarity that Razer has provided here and any setup would look fresh with a Blackshark V2 X headset‎ hanging from it and any gamer can experience their audio with crisp sound.

Written by: Stacey